Page 123 of Promised to the Alpha Prince

“But I’m bonded to him, and he’s not… through the bond, I feel his love, and I just don’t think that if he can love like that, he can be some kind of monster.”

“He’s not a monster,” I said. “I’ve been with monsters. That’s not Dmitri.” I knew it was true as I said it, too.

“Well, I’m glad you said that, because I don’t think I can give him up,” she said.

“Who asked you to?”

“Just… if it’s the right thing? If he’s a bad person—”

“Oh, for that matter, I’m a bad person,” I said.

“No, you’re not!”

I raised my eyebrows, grinning. “So sure of that?”

She nodded emphatically. “If you were abused when you were young, and all you ever knew was abuse, then I don’t think whatever you needed to do to survive that means anything about your character.”

I bowed my head, because—despite everything—it was still good to hear stuff like that out loud.

“You don’t have to talk about all the gory details if you don’t want,” she said. “But I’m here to hear anything you do want to tell me. You’re not going to shock me or scare me off. I want you to understand that.”

“You’re this… pretty, perfect, soft, flowery, girly—”

“No,” she said. “I’m a person. I’m flesh and blood. I’m your omega, Nikolai.”

My omega? My lips parted and I raised my gaze to hers. “Come with me, then.”

She started to say something.

“Not forever,” I said. “I’ll bring you back to him eventually, but just… you and me…”

“You’ll come back, too?”

I hesitated.

Her phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, muttering that it was probably a spam caller, and then turned off the ringer. She set it down on the bed. “That’s okay, I guess. You don’t have to make any decisions yet. If you’re asking me to run away with you, the answer’s yes. You’re the only one I haven’t been alone with recently.”

“Wait, what? You and Corentin, when?”

She cringed. “Don’t tell Dmitri.”

I chuckled. “Seriously?”

She groaned.

Her phone started ringing again. She picked it back up. Furrowing her brow, she said, “Same number.”

“Huh,” I said.

“I think I should answer it.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said.

She put the phone to her ear. “Hello?” A long pause as she listened. Her features changed, and her face drained noticeably of blood, her lips turning white. “N-no, I c-can’t—” But the person on the other end cut her off.

I moved forward, reaching for the phone. I don’t know what I meant to do, but something was rising in me, something fierce and protective, and I was going to stop whatever it was that was happening on this phone call, whatever was making her look that way, whatever was leaching her entirely of a scent.

She evaded me. “I don’t have that! I can’t get to that!” A pause. “But he won’t help me, not for him.”

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